What Friends Are For
by God Boy's Girl
Summary: When Araki Kindoundo has a chance to fulfill his dream of becoming an ANBU Captain, he eagerly accepts his initiation mission. What he doesn't expect, however, is the amount of difficulty and danger that this particular mission has in mind for him. Between his teammates, the mission itself, and his own feelings, he finds himself lost. OCfic. No Gary-Stu/Mary-Sues, Promise.


**Authoress's Note:** My, my, my, it certainly has been a while since I've uploaded a story, has it not? I do believe it has. Anyway, this is a more serious story, and it revolves around my ANBU OCs. There are pictures of them on DeviantArt that I've drawn. ^^ My account name is Shebby2007, so look me up, m'kay?

Anyway, this is based off of a roleplay that my friend and I have been doing. It takes place during the Naruto Shippuden, although it's before everything that's been going on if you're up to date with the latest manga chapters. PM me or comment if there's anything you don't understand, okay?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. I do have some rights to most of the characters in this story. :)

* * *

Arch gave a soft sigh as he walked alongside his violet-haired friend silently. Neither wanted to speak, for both were afraid that the other was going to bring up the topic that neither of them wished to speak of: Their friend and comrade, Muneyuki Colredan.

Colredan was currently being taken care of in Konohagakure's hospital in the ICU. He had been thrown into a coma by one of a set of twins and Saburo and Shiro. The first of the two had been Colredan's formidable opponent, and while Colredan had attempted to tear up the kid's mind, Saburo had somehow managed to make it backfire - thus sending Colredan into his current predicament.

Arch gave another sigh before looking up, his eyes tracing along the clear desert sky in a trance-like state.

His friend, the violet-haired female medical ninja named Anshonkial Kyla, turned to him at his sudden sigh. "What is it?"

Arch shrugged. "I'm worried, what do you think?"

Kyla turned back to face ahead of her, her expression obviously trying to hide the grief in her eyes. "I can't say that I blame you there," she muttered. "I'm worried, too."

Arch nodded. "I just hope Takako's going to be all right."

Takako was Colredan's girlfriend. She'd been together with him for three entire years. Arch himself had somehow managed to get a crush on her, even if he knew that nothing would ever come from it. Takako and Colredan were extremely close, which was why Arch was so worried about her.

Kyla smiled a little. "She'll be okay. Takako's strong. What about you? Are you going to be all right in Suna all by yourself?"

Arch was aware if what she meant. She was going to go live in Konoha, which was where her boyfriend, Kiroto, resided. Arch was going to remain in Suna, which was where he was currently an ANBU Black Op. His inauguration into becoming a captain of the ANBU was due any day, which was why he was going to the Sand Village so quickly instead of staying with his friends.

He nodded to Kyla as Sunagakure's gates came into view. "I'm going to be fine."

Before Kyla could get another word in, a voice rang out towards them.

"Arch-sempai! Kyla-san!"

Arch turned to see a brown-haired ANBU standing by Suna's gates, waving at them both frantically.

Kyla offered Shissou a plastic smile. "Hi, Shissou."

The ANBU removed his mask, his hair falling into place over his right eye before either of them could see what he covered up beneath it. Arch mentally scowled. He wanted to know what the guy hid!

Throwing the thought aside, Arch gave the younger man a half-hearted wave in return.

Shissou smiled at them as they drew closer, but he paused once they stopped in front of him. "What's wrong? Where's Colredan-san?"

"Colredan's going to be moving to Konoha," Kyla replied. "So am I. I've come to get our items."

Shissou gave her a funny look. "Why can't Colredan-san come get it?"

Arch could tell that Kyla was struggling to find the words to explain to Colredan's condition to Shissou without making him panic. Arch turned to the ANBU.

"So, uh . . . Anything interesting happen while we were gone, Shissou?" he asked, attempting to distract the man. Kyla tossed him a grateful glance.

Shissou's concerned look transformed into a cheerful one almost instantly. "Not while _I_ was on the watch! Heheh, it was fun, but I didn't have _any_ problems!"

"Good job," Arch replied. "Now, could you do me a _huge_ favor?"

"What's that, Arch-sempai?"

"Could you let Kyla and me into the village?"

Shissou's face turned a deep crimson. "O-of course!"

He turned and got out of their way almost instantly.

Kyla gave him another fake, awkward smile.

"Thank you, Shissou," both said in unison, before they walked off into Sunagakure.

-

Two days later, Arch was seated on top of Suna's academy, sword in one hand, thick cloth in the other as he polished his said sword. While it _was_ true that he wasn't the fondest person when it came to children, it was also true that kids reminded him of his closest friend back in Konohagakure - Nali Ishikawa.

Arch gave a soft sigh as he strapped his sword back onto the sling where it belonged. He climbed to his feet before jumping down, off of the building - and right in front of Colredan's Genin squad. For a moment, he and the students just stared at each other. Finally, though, one of the boys spoke up.

"Oi, you're that ANBU guy who Colredan-sensei is always around, ain't ya?" asked the boy, Makoto, quite rudely. Arch scowled.

"Yes. What of it?"

"M-may I ask where Colredan-sensei is _now_?" asked the female of the group, Iria, tentatively.

Arch turned his focus to the young girl. "He's going to be living in Konoha. _That's_ where he is now."

Daichi looked at Arch in confusion, tilting his head to the side. He was the handicapped member of the squad for, unfortunately, he was unable to speak for more than five minutes.

Arch's attention was quickly drawn away from him as Makoto glared at him. "Then who are we supposed to train under?! Certainly not _you_!"

Arch scowled angrily. "Listen you little _brat_. I wouldn't train you even if Gaara _himself_ asked me to!"

"Good," growled Makoto. "You'd make a bad sensei anyway!"

"Makoto-san, please stop," pleaded Iria softly. "We were told that we would be meeting our sensei today . . . Arch-sempai is an ANBU member . . . Kazekage-sama wouldn't make him be a sensei."

Arch nodded. "Listen to the girl. She's_ clearly_ smarter than _you_," he stated seriously, before vanishing in a cloud of smoke. He didn't feel like listening to any smart remarks that the kid decided to come up with.

He appeared outside of Colredan's house, which was soon going to come under his own possession. With Colredan being his friend, and Arch _himself_ not owning a house, Colredan had automatically allowed Arch to live in the three story house. Now that Colredan was moving, he had promised Arch the house for himself. This fact made Arch sigh. He wasn't living near _any_ of his friends but Shissou, and Shissou slept most of the time, so that really wasn't saying very much.

Pulling open the door and walking inside, Arch dropped his sword on one end of the couch, and then sat down on the other.

"What a messed up thing this has all turned out to be," he muttered, leaning against the back of the couch. "Everyone's _leaving_ . . ."

"Well, you _could_ come with us, you know," stated a voice from behind the man. Arch turned to look over his shoulder, only to discover Kyla carrying several bags down the staircase. Arch gave her a suspicious look. "How did you get in here?"

"Takako gave me a spare key so I could get Colredan's things," she stated calmly. "So don't worry. I'm not stalking you or anything. Besides, I've got a boyfriend, and you are _so_ not my type. "

Arch scoffed defiantly. "You're not _my_ type either."

"I'm . . . Not a guy . . ."

"_Hey_!" Arch snapped, turning to face her fully. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Kyla tossed him a falsely innocent smile. "Nothing . . ."

Before Arch could make any other sort of comment concerning the matter, a knock on the door was heard. Arch tossed Kyla a slight glare before turning around to get up. He walked over to the door and pulled it open, releasing bated breath as Shissou was revealed on the other side of the door. He'd hoped it was Colredan.

The lazy brunette gave Arch a drowsy smile. "Hi," he said, before stifling a yawn. "Gaara-sama wants to see you at the ANBU headquarters."

Arch gave him a confused look. "Just me?"

"Well, no . . . You, me, Teruaki, Inai, and Banchi."

"That makes more sense," Arch mumbled. He glanced over his shoulder at Kyla, who was picking up the last of her bags. "Hey, Kyla, Shissou and I are going to a conference with Gaara, so if I don't see you when I get back, then I'll see you when I visit Konoha!"

"Whatever," Kyla huffed, lifting the obviously-heavy bag. "Bye, have fun."

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Arch and Shissou both walked alongside one another contentedly, each off in their own little world.

Arch was thinking about what Gaara could _possibly_ want with _him_, while he was certain that Shissou was wondering when the next opportunity to take a nap would be

_How _any_ shinobi could become an ANBU Black Op while being _so_ lazy is completely beyond me . . ._ Arch muttered mentally, looking over at his friend curiously.

Shissou was staring at the ground, messing with the lengthy hair that covered the right side of his face. Arch sighed. "Shissou?"

"Yeah, Arch-sempai?"

"Why do you hide your face?"

Shissou seemed taken aback by the sudden question, looking over at Arch. "I don't remember," he shrugged finally. "My hair's been covering my face for so long that I no longer remember why . . . I even avoid looking into the mirror because I'm sure that I don't want to remember what happened."

Arch stared at the man. "But how on earth do you just 'forget'?"

"Dunno . . . I'm as clear as a bell in the morning when I wake up, but after that, I don't remember. Everything vanishes."

Arch was about to ask how that was, in _any_ way, possible when the ANBU building came into view. Shissou yawned before pulling open the door for himself and Arch.

Where the normal sounds of laughter would have greeted the two, incessant sounds of muttered conversation was its replacement. This made Arch rather uneasy about going inside, but he did anyway with Shissou following closely behind.

The building wasn't too huge-most of it consisting of a long hallway that lead to the back where the conference room was. Along the walls of the hallway were many pictures of past ANBU who were captains or KIA. What most visitors didn't realize was that, hidden on every second or third portrait, was a small camera meant to catch intruders. The hallway itself was a setup, considering each step made echoed off of the walls and alerted the ANBU there of an approaching 'visitor'.

Followed by this hallway was a room the size of a den. Inside there was a good sized table and several couches. A few chairs were backed up against the walls. This sufficed as a decent meeting room because of the security of the hall before it. Beside this room was a small kitchen where snacks and food could be made for ANBU on breaks, and a bathroom was beside _this_ room.

Those rooms made up the ANBU headquarters, as well as Shissou's home, known only to Gaara and the ANBU Black Ops.

Arch straightened his posture a little before opening the doors to the conference room, where Teruaki, Gaara, Inai (the _only_ female present at the moment), and Banchi were already located. Everyone's head turned as the last two ANBU summoned entered the room. Banchi smirked.

"You're late, _Araki_."

Arch clenched his fists by his side, though didn't reply to the man's statement. Instead, he turned to the Kazekage. "I apologize for being late, Gaara-sama. I was saying my farewells to Kyla."

Arch cast a half-glance at Banchi, who didn't look too happy about being ignored. He had tried to anger Arch by using his real name, which had only recently been discovered thanks to his father, who had been locked up for only a short amount of time.

Gaara merely nodded. "I understand. Sit; we must talk."

Arch did as instructed, taking a seat where he could clearly see the other ANBU, as well as Gaara himself. Shissou took a seat beside him, leaning against the table as much as he could without appearing lazy.

Gaara cleared his throat before looking straight at Arch. "Arch Kindoundo, you have worked as an ANBU Back Op for two, almost three full years, showing strength and loyalty that stood out among most of the others. You have a gift in leadership and a passion in caring for your friends," he stated calmly.

"With this in mind, I have spoken with the other ANBU Captains, and have decided to allow you to take a test, if you so wish, to decide whether or not you will become a Captain as well. Do you wish to take the test?"

Arch could barely breathe at the moment. This is what he had strived so long for! He quickly swallowed the lump in his throat, nodding. "Yes, Kazekage-sama, I _do_ wish to take the test."

Arch could feel Shissou shift in the seat next to him. Arch resisted the urge to look over at the man to see what was going on, and instead stared at Gaara as he waited.

Gaara finally nodded to the man. "Very well. You will receive your mission tomorrow. You will be the leader, with Shissou Kobayashi, Banchi, Teruaki, Inai, and Celena. Prepare yourselves for this mission. It will _not_ be simple, am I understood?"

Everyone in the room replied with a simple "Hai".

Gaara nodded. "Good. See you all in my office at noon tomorrow."

With that said, Gaara vanished in a cloud of dusty sand.

Everyone was silent for a little while afterwards. Finally, Inai spoke up with a sigh. "I _hate_ when the Kazekage comes here . . . He leaves dust all _over_ the place!"

Teruaki laughed. "Well, that's okay. Arch's got the mission that _brought_ Gaara here, so _he_ can clean it up," he smiled.

Arch scoffed and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "As _if_!"

Banchi grunted. "Then if Araki-_san_ won't clean it up, then _he _should go get _Celena_."

Arch glared at him. "I'm truly sorry to disappoint you by telling you this, but my name is_ Arch_, Banchi."

Banchi smirked. "Not according to your dad. _He_ said to call you by your _real_ name. Didn't he, Inai?"

The female sighed, shaking her head. "Arch's father was incapacitated in the ANBU Holding Facility. That meant that he was a cruel, ruthless criminal. To do as he said is to agree with a criminal, and that _isn't_ how we work."

Arch gave the woman a thankful glance, before standing up. "But I _will_ go locate Celena," he stated, turning to leave the table - only to find that Shissou was blocking his way - and _sleeping_ as well. Arch sighed, before grabbing the man's chair and, with little effort, tipped it sideways and dumped him onto the ground.

Shissou's eyes shot open, and he was up in an instant. "What happened?! Are we having an earthquake?! Is Arch-sempai's dad here?!" he asked with a rather high-pitched tone, while everyone else in the room laughed, except Arch. Arch was rather confused. He had never seen Shissou with such an unusual burst of energy.

"Are you all right, Shissou?" he asked, walking over to his friend. Shissou looked at him cautiously with a very out-of-sorts expression. Finally, he nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine . . ."

Arch sighed before moving and placing Shissou's chair back where it belonged. "Good. Would you like to come and get Celena-san with me?"

Shissou cracked a huge grin. "Yeah! . . . One minute though, okay? 'Kay!"

And with that, Shissou vanished into the kitchen.

The room was silent for a moment before Teruaki burst into laughter. "Who knew Shissou-kun could move like that?" he asked jokingly. Arch shrugged. "Not me."

Inai sighed. "I just wonder what he left so quickly for . . ."

"Well, if you want to know so badly, go _ask_ him," Banchi muttered. Inai cast him a rather bitter glance, before watching as Shissou walked out from the kitchen drowsily. "I'm ready to go, Arch-sempai."

Arch nodded, before he and Shissou walked back down the hallway.

Once outside, Arch stretched his arms and back. "Did you hear Gaara's announcement, Shissou?"

Shissou remained silent for about two minutes, which greatly confused Arch. Arch was just about to repeat his question when Shissou suddenly said, "Yeah, I did."

Arch gave the man a very confused look. "You okay?"

Once again, Shissou's response was delayed. Soon enough, though, he muttered an, "I'm fine."

Arch crossed his arms and looked the man over. "Then why are you behaving so unusually?"

Shissou shrugged. "I'm not feeling so well."

Arch sighed, turning to look ahead. "Well, try to get better before tomorrow, okay? After all, I don't want my friend to be sick while I'm leading a mission!"

Shissou gave a light smile, and after a few moments, replied, "I'll try."

Arch nodded. "Okay, Shissou. Good enough for me."

". . . Good."

Being satisfied with the conversation's end, Arch looked around for the being that was the main component of the task at hand; Celena Okinawa.

The two located the reddish-blonde haired woman at a dango shop, eating a sweet roll with several Dangos and some sort of tea. She was speaking with another, more unrecognizable man whose back was turned toward them.

Arch took a deep breath, doing his best not to recall his memories with her. Celena had been his own sensei when he had been a Genin. She was an extremely temperamental woman with very little patience for failure. Her method for punishment was very rough and, in some cases, painful. Arch winced as he recalled one that had left scars up and down his ankle - in places that his mother and father had missed.

Attempting to summon enough steady courage to approach her, he, begrudgingly, discovered that Shissou was already doing so. He growled softly, walking quickly to catch up. Shissou cast him an unreadable glance, but quickly looked back at Celena. Arch was surprised to see that she had already spotted them and was gesturing them over with a tanned hand.

As Arch cautiously approached, a horrid feeling of dread weaved its way uncomfortably up his spine and into his head, causing his vision to cloud over with a brief white light. He shook his head to clear it, coming to a halt at the table, forgetting about Celena's companion. "Hello."

"Good afternoon," stated Celena, her voice holding a bit of a scolding tone. As she spoke again, it vanished. "I hear you'll be having your test soon . . . News seems to travel fast here. Many of the female shinobi have been gossiping about it."

Arch smiled softly, though more towards her second statement than her last one. "Apparently it does . . . As a matter of fact, that's why I'm here. My test begins tomorrow, and I have been ordered to ask you to come as a supervising ANBU. Would you please accept?"

Before Arch's former sensei could respond her companion did. "I'm sure that, with Celena being my wife's third adopted cousin, she'd probably be _pleased_ to accompany you as a "supervising" ANBU. Isn't that right, Celena-chan?"

Arch felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as the voice spoke - the voice belonging to someone extremely familiar. Arch's body felt rigid with shock, the white haze beginning to show again, while panic rose inside his chest. _That voice_ . . . he thought, turning carefully. _That voice belongs to . . . _

"Ryouhei quit talking for me. I'm _perfectly_ capable of answering for myself," Celena stated, her tone sharp. She turned to Arch, almost instantly noticing the fact that Arch _and_ Shissou looked surprised at her guest. "Hey, you two," she stated, eyeing them. "Let's go for a walk. You can brief me on the mission. Ryouhei, I hope you don't mind."

"_Anything_ for family," Ryouhei smiled, casting a quick, pointed glance at Arch, his son. Arch stared at Ryouhei as calmly and collected as he could. This man had helped Arch's mother, Hazumi Kindoundo, torture Arch from his second year of life until his seventh. Arch had never forgiven them, and he doubted he'd ever even try to.

Celena didn't seem to see Ryouhei's actions, and she beckoned for Shissou and Arch to follow her as she began to walk away. Shissou cast one last glance back at Ryouhei, whose eyes were trailing after Arch with unmasked hatred in them. Shissou shuddered, turning away and fiddling with the lengthy hair that covered his right eye. _Poor Arch . . . having _him_ as a father must be nearly unbearable . . . _

Arch, on the other hand, was following after Celena quickly, ready to give her the mission information so that he could go. The feelings from before were beginning to bother him, considering he was positive it didn't have anything to do with his father's unusual and unexpected appearance in public, although _that_ had unnerved him as well.

As he dwelled on this, Arch didn't realize that Celena had come to a halt. He barreled right into her, throwing them both to the ground. Arch's eyes widened in surprise, backing up on the sand-ridden terrain. Celena cast him a fierce glare as she climbed to her feet and brushed herself off. "You're _very_ lucky you're not still a Genin," she snapped, crossing her arms as Arch climbed to his feet.

"I apologize."

"Hn . . . Yes, I'm sure you do. Now," she stated, looking the ANBU over. "My cousin got married over nineteen years ago, did you know that? I didn't. I just found out today. As a matter of fact, I just met her husband today, as well. He really is kind, do you know that?"

Arch looked at her in confusion. _Surely_ she couldn't be talking about his father?

"His name is Ryouhei Kindoundo, which means my cousin is Hazumi Kindoundo now. If I recall, Arch, you're _also_ a Kindoundo," she stated, looking at him seriously. "You told me your parents were dead."

Arch sighed. "I'm not very pleased with my parents," he stated. How was he supposed to tell her what her kin had done to him? Thinking quickly, he added, "and I was always advised not to mention my parents being alive in case someone targeted them."

Celena was silent for a little while, and Shissou remained so quiet that Arch figured he'd fallen asleep while standing.

Finally, Celena nodded. "Fine. Your father is kind. I don't understand why you acted so strangely, but I won't pry. . Now, what's the mission about?"

"I haven't been informed of the details. All I know is that I, with your help, will be leading a mission with Shissou here, Banchi, Inai, and Teruaki. Gaara has instructed us to be in his office by noon tomorrow."

Celena nodded. "I understand."

"Celena-sempai, you know about Ryouhei, don't you?" asked Shissou suddenly, looking at her seriously.

Celena's gaze shifted to Shissou slowly. "What? That he was locked up in the ANBU Holding Facility and then was mysteriously released along with a pair of imbecilic twins named Shiro and Saburo? You could say I know."

Arch was floored. "Y-you _knew_?"

"I couldn't capture or charge him without good reason. Arch," she stated, looking at him. "You are the _only_ one out of your friends here that knows why he was l-"

"Ahhh, Celena-chan, I was _hoping_ I would locate you," stated a voice from above the small group. The three ANBU looked up, seeing the familiar, dull green eyes boring back into them. Ryouhei jumped off of the building with a grin that betrayed nothing of what was going on in his head. "You left your food, so I bagged it and brought it."

Celena remained calm and collected as Ryouhei held out the bag and she took it. She smiled with an odd type of kindness Arch wasn't used to. _Perhaps she's trying to come off as _not_ suspicious_, he thought, watching curiously.

"Thank you, Ryouhei," she said with a nod.

"Of course," he replied, returning her previous smile. He looked over at Shissou and Arch, though his gaze wandered to Arch specifically and fixated on him. "You boys stole my company; I hope you don't mind if I return the favor."

"Not at all," Arch stated, his tone defiant in spite of the fear that he was suppressing. He was _tired_ of letting himself look and act foolish when his father or mother was around. He wasn't a coward, and he wasn't about to act like one!

"Good," stated Ryouhei, his smile fading slightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow at the gates. Ten thirty in the morning," added Celena, before turning and motioning for Ryouhei to follow her as she began to walk off.

Once they were out of sight, Shissou sighed. "I believe that Celena-sensei may very well be my role model. Your father's scary, Arch-sempai."

"My mother's worse," sighed Arch. "Don't run into her . . . If she knows you're in relation with me, she'll . . . She'll end up killing you."

Shissou nodded. "And now that your father knows that we're friends, I'm sure your mom will find out as well."

"Of course," sighed Arch bitterly. "She's got him wrapped around her finger tightly. He does as she says all of the time."

Shissou smiled good-heartedly. "Understood."

Arch nodded as a hot, dusty breeze blew through the back streets where they were located. Arch grunted as the wind buffeted his hair, slapping it annoyingly against his face. Shissou laughed a little as he turned to walk away. "Come on, Arch-sempai, let's get out of here. Inai-chan says that when wind hits someone with temperamental issues, then it means a storm's coming! I don't remember what she said would happen if that wind carried sand on it . . ."

Arch smirked. "Shissou, I'm insulted. You're making it sound like you think _I'm_ temperamental."

Shissou's face turned scarlet. "N-no, Arch-sempai! I-I didn't m-mean it like t-"

"Calm down, I was joking you fool."

"O-oh . . . Sorry. I overreacted . . ."

Arch shook his head as he began to walk alongside Shissou. "I agree."

Shissou laughed before emitting a stifled yawn. Arch sighed. "Shissou, why do you sleep so much? Do you not get enough sleep at night?"

Shissou shrugged. "I've got the night shift, so I'm tired during the day."

"Shissou, you _do_ know that they can change your shift, right?"

The man hesitated. "I-I can't sleep at night, Arch-sempai . . . At least, not often. Besides, shifts with you are fun!"

Arch smirked, coming to the cross-road that had a road leading to Colredan's house, and one that led to the ANBU Headquarters. Shissou stretched as he came to a halt as well. He turned to Arch, an unusually serious expression on his face. Arch eyed him curiously. "Hey, are you okay?"

Shissou stood up straight. "Arch-sempai . . . I don't fight very well, and I'm not very brilliant, but I promise you that I will do my _best_ not to disappoint you."

Arch was taken aback slightly, but smiled and nodded. "I believe you, my friend."

"Good," Shissou grinned, while another breeze blew through the area. It caught Shissou's hair, but he turned as it did so. Arch's brow furrowed as he caught sight of the scar across Shissou's nose continuing under his hair. Just _what_ had happened to him?

Arch forced himself not to ask, and instead headed home, prepared to get going tomorrow.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Arch awoke the next morning to find that a fierce sandstorm had engulfed Sunagakure. This, unfortunately, made things very complicated for him. He could hear the wind howling outside the window while the sand worked with it to bash against the front door.

Grumbling to himself, Arch wrapped his bag inside a second, thicker bag. It would help keep the sand out of his bag. He hoisted up the bag and slung it over his shoulder, casting a glance around the room before opening the front door and plunging himself head-first into the storm.

Sand swirled all around him, tearing at his bag and making his coat flop around his shoulders and ankles. Ducking his head against the raging winds and eye-stinging sand, he fought his way to the ANBU Headquarters to see if Shissou was up yet.

As soon as Arch turned the doorknob, the door flew open, slamming against the wall furiously. Arch winced at the noise, shoving the door shut again and dropping his bag beside it. He headed down the picture-lined hallway, his clothes heavy from the sand.

In the meeting room Arch found Inai, Teruaki, and Shissou all sitting at the table talking. Teruaki seemed completely engulfed in his own little world, talking while Inai and Shissou didn't seem to be paying too much attention to him. Arch gave a light sigh. "Where's Banchi?"

Inai looked up in surprise and curiosity at hearing Arch's voice all of a sudden. "He hasn't shown up yet. I'm going to place _my_ bet on the fact that he'll probably show up at the Kazekage's off-"

She was cut off at the sound of the front door being opened and slammed. Everyone's head turned at the sound of heavy, stomping footsteps descending down the hallway. Before Arch could climb to his feet to investigate, Banchi burst into the room, looking _extremely_ bedraggled. The light haired man tossed a glare around the room, dropping his bag to the ground as if challenging someone to say something. _Anything_.

Arch sighed, but Teruaki decided to voice _his_ thoughts instead. "There's a sandstorm outside, you know?"

"Shut up!" seethed Banchi, while sand continued to pour out of his hair. "I'm _not_ stupid."

"Of course not," muttered Arch. "Now go into the kitchen and stop throwing sand all over the place."

Banchi sneered at him hatefully. "You may be the leader of this mission today, but you are _not_ going to be telling me what to do _until_ then, got it?"

"Fine." Arch turned to Inai curiously. "What about Celena?"

Inai smiled kindly at Arch. "She left a note here last night. She said she expected a storm, so she'd meet us here instead."

"Hn, sounds like her," smirked Arch. "Tells you one thing, and then changes it."

"Don't we _all_?" asked Teruaki, his tone a sing-song like sigh. His smile showed he was only joking, though.

"Very true," laughed Shissou. He stretched contentedly, apparently in an unusually _awake_ mood. "So, if it's eleven now, then we've got an hour to wait."

"Has anyone got even the _slightest_ clue as to what this mission is?" asked Teruaki, watching as Banchi slipped into the kitchen.

"No . . . All I know is Arch is supposed to lead it," Inai yawned. "I _also_ know that I can't _wait_ to get out of those night shifts! Lord _knows_ I'm tired of sleeping all day."

"Amen," laughed Teruaki. "Same here!"

"Well, if _Araki_ doesn't screw up this mission, then we'll be home free," mumbled Banchi as he walked out of the kitchen with a towel draped around his head. "And I'll kill him if he _does_ screw it up."

"Ooh, I'm terrified," mumbled Arch sarcastically.

"Guys, stop it," Inai stated, crossing her arms. "Shissou, can you do me a favor?"

"Hn . . . Huh? O-oh yeah! . . . What?" asked Shissou, jolting out of his sleep-like state. Inai smiled patiently.

"Go get Banchi-kun an overcoat like ours, would you, dear?"

"Uh-huh! Be back in a minute!" Shissou grinned, before darting into the next room to fetch the coat.

Arch never ceased to be amazed by Inai. She was able to keep Shissou active when she was around without yelling or getting angry with him. Shissou was a very sweet man with a good heart, but a lot of people lost their temper with him easily. Arch was amazed that Inai could keep her patience with him so easily. She was very gifted in the 'art' of patience.

Shissou returned moments later with the over-coat in hand. He walked over to Banchi and held it out. Banchi scowled at him before snatching it away from the boy so roughly that Shissou spun around and fell to the ground. Banchi smirked down at him triumphantly, while Arch stood up and walked over to Shissou to help him up.

Once up, Shissou smiled dazedly at him. "Hello . . ."

"Hi," murmured Arch, suddenly recalling the sight of the extended scar across Shissou's face that he had discovered only yesterday. He had thought the scar was only on Shissou's nose. "You okay, Shissou?"

"Yes," Shissou grinned. "Thank you Arch-sempai."

"You mean _Araki_-sempai, right?" mocked Banchi bluntly. Arch turned and glared at the man. "_Stop_ calling me that!" he practically screamed. "It's not my _name_!"

"Not from what _I've_ heard!"

"What you heard was a lie! That _freak_-"

"Is your _father_," stated a female voice from behind Arch. A man's laugh-slash-grunt sounded near her. "And I, your father, suggest you don't do that . . . That _insulting_ thing. It's _extremely_ rude."

Arch spun around to face to pair, his eyes narrowing on the sight of Ryouhei Kindoundo standing beside Celena Okinawa. Ryouhei was looking around at the surprised faces of the group of ANBU Black Ops. Inai was looking him over critically, while Teruaki seemed to wonder why such a person would come _back_ to the people who had arrested him in the first place. Banchi, however, was grinning while Shissou looked like he didn't really know what was going on. Arch growled angrily to himself, but Banchi shoved him aside and gave a respectful bow. "Ryouhei-sempai, how _gracious_ of you to show up! A secondary supervising officer is _always_ a help when it comes to assessing a new ANBU officer, right?"

"Of course," Ryouhei agreed, walking into the room casually. Celena walked inside after him, casting a glance at Arch that basically read "we'll talk elsewhere".

Arch threw a glance back at Ryouhei, who was smirking with, unbeknownst to Banchi, amusement. Sighing, Arch turned and walked into the kitchen, motioning for Shissou to remain in the room. Shissou looked crestfallenly surprised, but sighed and walked over to where Inai was seated and sat beside her. Inai smiled briefly, while Teruaki cast a furtive glance over at him. Shissou didn't seem to notice this as he watched Banchi's behavior, as well as Ryouhei's.

Celena walked away from Ryouhei's side and went into the kitchen after Arch. She was quickly growing tired of ending up by Ryouhei's side, not liking it in the least.

Arch was leaning over the sink in the kitchen, apparently concentrating on filling a glass with water as Celena approached. The woman shut the kitchen door behind her and leaned against it. "Troubled?"

"Hn . . . Barely more than _usual_."

Celena sighed. "I didn't bring your father here, Arch."

"I know," muttered Arch. "Banchi did. He _invited_ him to come, just to get at me. He hates _me_ because _I'm_ going to be leading the mission, and so he went out of his way to make me suffer!"

"You're thinking a bit too far into this, aren't you, Arch?" Celena asked, looking the young man over. "You seem to be a lot touchier since you returned from Konoha."

"It's nothing . . . Just some things that have happened recently," mumbled Arch, diverting his eyes away from the glass and Celena. "I ended up falling for a girl who I wasn't able to get with, and then Colredan got thrown into a coma."

"Fun," Celena sighed. "But you can't let that control your emotions. You've got to take part in what's going on _here_ instead of over in Konoha. This is where you live, and so you have to actually _live_ your life. Try not to let it overcome your judgments."

"Fine," Arch stated. "But will he be able to come?"

"Banchi or Ryouhei, Arch?"

"Ryouhei."

"That all depends on what the Kazekage decides," Celena replied sternly. "And in your best interest, Arch, I suggest that you don't put up a fight if the Kazekage _does_ allow him to come."

Arch sighed, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself down. "Okay, I won't," he sighed. "And I apologize for yelling earlier."

"You're stressed," shrugged Celena. "But apology accepted anyway. Don't yell at me anymore."

"Yes Ma'am," Arch sighed, downing the water in his glass before stretching a little. "I guess I shouldn't let it get to me. After all, that's what Banchi wants, right?"

"If it will stop you from complaining, then I agree."

Arch smirked. "Thanks, Celena-sensei. Now, let's go."

Both of the ANBU walked out of the kitchen to find Teruaki conversing with Ryouhei and Banchi, while Inai was checking through her things. Shissou was leaning against the wall opposite of Ryouhei. Arch sighed, crossing his arms. He was _not_ going to give his father the satisfaction of scaring him.

"All right, everyone. With the storm billowing outside the way it is, our best option is to leave now if we wish to get to the Kazekage's office on time," Arch announced, looking around at everyone. "So, all who are going on this mission can come with Celena and me."

Teruaki nodded, before standing up and walking to Inai's side. Shissou smiled, walking over to Arch. "You're handling this well, Buddy," he mumbled quietly, before going to stand by Celena as he pulled on his over-coat. Arch watched as Banchi cast him a scathing glare as he yanked on his own over-coat, while Ryouhei merely waited, seeing as he had been ready all along. Arch paid him no mind as he passed the man, his objective being to get to the Kazekage's tower.

It took the group a little while to make it to the tower, and this was a good thing for Arch. At least he had been right-even Banchi couldn't disagree with it.

Entering the building, Arch was relieved to find that they were basically the only ones to show up.

"Looks like we'll be the first ones in," speculated Inai. Arch nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let's go before that changes."

Celena and the others followed right along, while Banchi and Ryouhei trailed along behind the small group. Arch wasn't very comfortable with the fact that the two seemed to be so close; especially considering Banchi already hated him so much. He was positive that it wouldn't take much to cause Banchi to do something drastic.

Arriving at the Kazekage's office, Arch gave a heavy knock and entered once given permission. Everyone took a seat except Arch, who stood in front of Gaara's desk proudly. Gaara looked around at the group.

"Everyone showed up. Very good," he stated calmly, before gesturing to Ryouhei. "You are?"

"Ryouhei Kindoundo. Banchi Hindoro requested that I come along with Celena as a second supervising officer. If you wouldn't mind, Kazekage-sama, I would accept."

Gaara nodded in approval, before turning back to Arch.

"Arch, I will ask you once more before we begin anything. Do you wish to take on this mission to ensure whether you are fit to become a Captain of the ANBU Black Ops? There is no telling how long this mission could take," stated Gaara seriously.

Arch nodded, quite aware of just how important his answer was. "I do," he replied honestly.

"Good," Gaara stated, before folding his hands on his desk. "Your mission isn't going to be as simple completing as it is to explain. You all will be traveling to Amegakure. A group of Rain Village shinobi has been capturing shinobi inside and outside of their territory and not releasing them. Your mission is to invade their territory, rescue the captives, and assassinate the kidnappers. Your _primary_ objective is to assassinate the lead of all of this; Hishimosa Kinto. Do you understand?"

"Hai," Arch replied with a respectful bow. He suppressed a wince as Banchi decided to speak up.

"Why are _we_ going to help out, huh?" he asked bluntly. "Our ninja typically don't _go_ to Amegakure."

Gaara looked over at the man. "You're going because my sister, Temari, was captured as well."

Inai's eyes widened in surprise. She got to her feet almost immediately. "Then we will _definitely_ succeed on this mission!"

Gaara gave her an appreciative nod. He looked back at Arch. "I expect you to depart immediately."

"Hai," repeated Arch, before turning to everyone else in the room. "Let's go!"

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Arch had been surprised when no one had tried to argue once he'd tried to get everyone to go. Even Banchi had avoided commenting. Everyone must have been concerned about such a large mission.

The sand storm outside was _much_ less fierce now, at least making it so they could exit the gates without trouble. Once they were about a half a mile away from the village, Arch turned to his squad. Banchi scoffed. "Had you of stopped any quicker, I'm afraid time would have had to catch up," he mocked.

Arch tried to ignore him by speaking up himself. "Considering how late this mission started, we're only going to travel until twilight. That was we can set up a decent camp. We're going to need our strength if we want to at_ least_ make it to our destination."

"Well, then, let's _go_! If you keep up your yappin', then we'll _be_ here until twilight!" Banchi growled.

Arch was about to snap a harsh comment at him, but Celena beat him to it.

"_Enough_, Banchi. You're disgracing yourself by being so immature about this. You _should_ be listening to your captain instead of _arguing_ with him."

Banchi's face grew a slight tint of red with embarrassment. Arch knew he _should_ have felt triumphant, but instead, he felt sympathy for the man. He knew what it was like to be in that position. It certainly wasn't fun when Celena was the one to put you _in_ that position.

Turning on his heel, he began to walk away. "Banchi _does_ have a point, though," he stated. "We don't have time to waste. The quicker we move the better."

Shissou watched as everyone dashed after Arch, once again leaving him to try and catch up. He sighed.

_You're slow, but don't worry! I'll make sure you never fall behind, Kid!_

That had been what Arch had said the first day they'd met a long time ago. Where was _that_ Arch now, he wondered.

_He's got friends in Konoha now . . . And I know why he likes them so much . . . But now that he's going to be a Captain, we'll be worlds apart . . . I really need to prove myself on this mission if I want to still stay his friend!_ Thought Shissou determinedly. _I won't fall behind, Arch-sempai! I promise_!

And with that, he dashed faster than usual, catching up with Inai and Teruaki.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

Six and a half hours passed before the group stopped to set up camp. The day had passed by with extreme heat and dusty winds. Banchi had released multiple mumbled complaints about it all throughout the day. Surprisingly, though, no one lost their cool over it, even when Arch had to change their direction several times to veer them away from a rough looking dirt-tornado storm or otherwise.

Now, though, the tents had been set up and all seven shinobi were seated around a fire. Everyone was fairly silent, trying to go over the mission in their heads. Arch himself had already gone over it so many times that he had it memorized down to each breath Gaara had taken while explaining it.

"So, Arch, how long before we reach the village?" asked Inai kindly as she looked at him.

Arch was silent for a moment as he processed the question. "Well, if nothing blocks us off, then we should arrive within the next day and a half. It shouldn't take _too_ long, anyway."

"That's good," Teruaki yawned. "But at least we'll get some sleep tonight!"

"Well, most of us," sighed Arch. "I want at least one person up at a time to be a lookout. If these people are really striking outside of their own territory, then there's no guarantee that they won't have made it this far."

Teruaki groaned with annoyance. "Bummer."

"That's fine," stated Ryouhei. "I suppose I can take the first shift."

Arch stared at him in disbelief, about to refuse before he realized how that would make him look. He didn't want to seem suspicious of his father, even if he was. "Er, thanks," he stated, before turning to the others. "Looks like the rest of us can get a good night's sleep, then. Let's get on it."

Arch waited until everyone had gone to their tents before he went to his and Shissou's. Everyone had had to share a tent with someone else, although that hadn't been too good with Teruaki and Banchi, who ended up getting stuck together. Arch yawned, removing only his headband before lying down on his sleeping bag. Shissou appeared to have already fallen asleep, which didn't surprise Arch in the least. Resting his head against his makeshift pillow, he closed his eyes, studying the blackness behind his eyelids before drifting off into sleep.

Arch awoke again at the sound of a woman's soft humming, groaning slightly. "Inai . . . Go back to your own tent," he yawned groggily. "You don't belong in ours . . ."

"Silly, silly Arch-kun. You're still as quick to judge as you've always been," said a kind, soft voice. Arch's eyes shot open fully as he recognized the person who spoke.

Twelve years ago, when Arch had been seven and still living with his horrid parents, he had befriended a young girl named Konari. Everyone teased them by calling them boyfriend and girlfriend, and Arch just went along with it. Unfortunately, his mother had discovered this and made Arch watched as she brutally murdered Konari in cold blood. Arch had never forgotten this, and for some reason, he felt that her spirit was around sometimes. He even thought he'd hear her voice on the wind sometimes.

And here she was; Konari was seated to his right, a kind smile on her face. She wasn't still the same young girl she had been years ago-now she was a fully grown young woman. She had grown as he had!

Arch was speechless for a few moments, unsure of what was going on and if it was truly real. He turned completely to face the gorgeous woman. "W-what is this?"

Konari smiled, placing her hands in her lap. "I've come to visit you, Arch. I've wanted to for a while now, but I couldn't . . . Anyway, I've felt so horrible about what happened so long ago-"

"_You_?! Why? I've been feeling awful about it because they were _my_ parents, and I couldn't stop them," Arch stated, looking over at her seriously. He was being completely honest - he'd never been able to forgive himself.

"Don't get so worked up, Arch," said Konari calmly. "The only reason I've felt bad is because of what you just said, Arch. For the longest time now I've watched you beat yourself up because of what happened. I don't want that. It's not your fault, even _I_ can see that. To be honest, I'm glad it happened."

"What?!" Arch asked in shock. "How can you _say_ that?!"

"Arch, _please_ don't get so touchy with what I say. Strong emotions like that will make me leave. I'm glad because my departure gave you the push you needed to leave that horrible place. Now do you understand?"

Arch hesitated, before finally sighing. "Yes, I understand . . . I just wish you hadn't of had to be the price . . ."

"Don't worry about it, Arch. Someone else important to you will become even more so with time," she smiled. This made Arch smile as well-before her face paled all of a sudden and her eyes dulled so much that it looked like they had been bleached. Arch drew back immediately. "What's wrong?"

She turned her pale gaze on him, causing shivers to wrack up his spine. "Beware the weak," she muttered softly-almost to the point of inaudibility. "Drastic is deadly . . . Mistakes can be consequential . . ."

Arch's head spun with confusion and doubt. "What do you mean?! I don't understand! I-"

Arch's eyes shot open as he released a startled gasp. He found himself back in his tent, with sweat pouring down his face like salty ran. He sat up, running a hand through his matted hair.

_Beware the weak . . . Drastic is deadly . . . Mistakes can be consequential . . ._

He repeated it mentally as he wiped his face on a T-shirt. _What was Konari talking about?_

Shaking the thought from his mind temporarily, he put his headband back on and left the tent. Ryouhei was lying on his back, his hands folded behind his head as he gazed up at the stars. Arch sighed, walking towards his father. At least no one had invaded the camp. That was good.

Arch wasn't even three feet away from the man before Ryouhei looked up at him. "Up early, I see."

Arch ignored this statement. "You can go to bed. I'll take over."

Ryouhei sat up completely, a smirk on his face. "I think we can share the shift, don't you?"

"Sleep is _mandatory_. I suggest you get it," Arch stated.

Ryouhei's smirk turned into a sneer. "Don't start that with me," he scowled. "I've accepted your offer, but I still want to stay up, got it, _Captain_?"

Arch held his gaze angrily for a moment or two before he finally walked over and sat down. "Fine."

"Good," Ryouhei stated, leaning back to look at the sky again. "It's hard to believe you might become an ANBU Captain, you know?"

"Hn . . ."

"All these years and you haven't wasted your time yet, have you? . . . Except for when you made friends with those Konoha brats of course."

"Hn," muttered Arch, trying to act as if what his father said didn't bother him.

Ryouhei seemed undaunted by Arch's one-worded responses. "Yes . . . Though technically, the only ones out of your friends that don't bother me too much are that Takako girl and Nali."

Arch felt is chest tighten a little at this uncomfortable information. His father didn't 'like' very many people. Still, Ryouhei continued. "They remind me a lot of that young girl you were-"

Arch turned to glare at him fiercely. "Shut it! I guarantee you that if you or your wretched wife lay a hand on my friends, I'll kill you!" he threatened angrily.

Ryouhei grinned creepily. "How _sweet_. You still have a crush on that Takako girl, don't you?"

Arch dug his fingernails into his palms as he clenched his fists tightly. "Shut it," he repeated, climbing to his feet angrily. "I want to make _one_ thing _very_ clear to you, Ryouhei Kindoundo."

"Oh?" asked Ryouhei curiously. "Well, _go_ for it."

"You may be my biological father, but you know what? I don't care! I don't _live_ by your rules anymore! I live by the morals of the shinobi way, as well as my own! I'm through with allowing you to waltz in on your high horse and Mom to screw everything up! From now on, _I_ rule my life. When you or Mom show up, I'm not going to run; I'm going to stand up to you both and fight for my family."

Ryouhei smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's _us_, remember?"

"No," Arch scowled, looking his father in the eyes scathingly. "You're not my family any more. You're just a bad memory. My new family lives in Konoha-and you won't lay a hand on them."

For the first time since Arch could remember, Ryouhei actually looked surprised. He sat up and then climbed to his feet, looking his son over. And then, without a word or gesture, Ryouhei turned and vanished into his tent-leaving Arch along with the harsh desert and his thoughts.

X-x-x-x-x-x-x-X

After Ryouhei and Arch's talk, nothing really interesting happened. The most eventful thing that happened was when several scorpions got together and started to fight. Arch entertained himself by carefully picking them up and pasting a name on their shells.

Elia had been the last to bury itself, and thus became the winner.

But, other than that, the rest of Arch's evening was uneventful. When Inai and Teruaki woke up with the others (except for Ryouhei), Arch was pretty sure he'd never been happier to see another human being.

Teruaki yawned as he stretched, having just finished eating his breakfast. "All right! I'm rested up, full, and ready to go!" he announced cheerfully. Inai laughed a little, finishing her own meal. "Sounds good to me."

"Same," mumbled Shissou, his head bowed a little. Arch looked at him with concern, about to ask why he was so glum, when he recalled that Ryouhei had had to sleep in the same tent they shared once Arch had left. _That must be why_ . . .

Arch looked over at the tent just as Ryouhei emerged, looking as neat and proper as always. Arch stood up seconds later. "Seeing as everyone's up, we should move out as quickly as possible," he stated seriously. "Does everyone agree?"

Ryouhei was the first to nod, quickly followed by everyone but Banchi, who snorted and crossed his arms.

Within moments everyone was pushing through the tough, gritty terrain of the desert. This time, though, Banchi kept his mouth shut as he trekked, making it _much_ less stressful than before. Shissou hung near the back with Ryouhei, staring at the ground as he walked. Arch was back in the lead, carefully trying to pin-point where he needed to go. He wasn't going to mess this up. He also felt a little lighter after chewing his father out the night before-but Konari's ominous words lingered in his mind, nearly taking the lightness away.

His mask was hot and heavy on his face, but Arch was glad that it was at least keeping most of the sand out of his face.

Eventually, after about twelve hours of travel with multiple ten minute resting stops, the group was close to their destination. Arch sighed as he came to a halt, turning to face his unusual team. He couldn't believe just how dusty and dirty everyone looked from their harsh travel - especially Celena, who was always prim and proper. He sighed.

"All right," he stated, crossing his arms over his sand-covered chest. "We're on the brink of Amegakure's territory. We'll be arriving in hostile areas soon, so everyone needs to rest up," he announced seriously. "All right?"

"How long will we rest for?" asked Teruaki curiously.

Arch hesitated, pondering the question over for a moment, trying to come up with a sensible answer. Ryouhei coughed a little, looking at Arch.

"You now, I think I can smell steam . . . There must be a hot spring around here," he stated casually. "Do you think there might be a town close by, Araki?"

Arch looked at the man for a moment with suppressed confusion, before nodding. "It's more than likely," he stated seriously. Turning back to the others, he added, "so if you all don't mind walking a little further, we could try to locate the town."

"Sounds good," smiled Inai. "Lord knows I could go for a decent bath."

"Same," laughed Teruaki. "I'm filthy!"

"Good," replied Arch. "Then you all go in three groups of two. Whoever locates it first will come to me, and I'll alert the others."

"Who goes with who?" asked Banchi snidely.

Arch looked at the group carefully. If anything, he didn't want Ryouhei and Banchi together. He wasn't comfortable with the relationship the two apparently shared.

_I need someone I trust to go with them both . . . _he thought before turning to Ryouhei. "You'll be going with Shissou, Celena will go with Banchi, and Inai with Teruaki," he stated seriously, turning before he could see Shissou's bewildered expression.

"Everyone, go!" announced Arch, before everyone dashed off into different directions with their partners. Arch stood where he was, waiting for his team to arrive.

Meanwhile, Shissou was doing his best _not_ to panic while walking beside Ryouhei. Ryouhei didn't seem to notice the young man's troubles as he walked. Then, almost as if on cue, Ryouhei stopped dead - staring ahead of him as if something amazing were there. Shissou, unfortunately, didn't seem to notice this and ended up barreling right into the man-throwing both of them to the ground.

Shissou felt his mind glaze over with fear, but will power forced the boy to his feet before Ryouhei could get to his. Ryouhei sighed as he brushed himself off. "So much for manners in the ANBU units," he muttered sarcastically. He walked over and took a seat on a tree stump. After a minute or so without a response, he looked up at Shissou curiously. "What? Did I hurt your feelings?" he asked bluntly, noting that Shissou was staring at the ground blankly. "Well?"

Shissou looked over at the man, an unusually serious look in his eyes. "Can I ask you a question, Ryouhei-_san_?" he asked - his tone low.

Ryouhei looked at him, curiosity now completely evident in his eyes. "Well, that was sudden," he replied casually. "But yes, you may. What is it?"

"It's about Arch-sempai," Shissou replied, looking at Ryouhei straight in the eyes. "What did you and your wife do to Arch-sempai those years ago?"

Smirking, Ryouhei turned his head to the side and emitted an exaggerated sigh. "Personally? I didn't do much to him other than watch what his mother did. Out of anything I've ever actually done to him, there's probably only one thing I could have done that he could _really_ hate me for."

Taking a cautious seat on the grass, Shissou looked up at Ryouhei. "And what's that?"

"I'd tell you," stated Ryouhei thoughtfully. "But I don't know if I can trust you not to say anything to the others."

Shissou sighed, looking at the ground. "So what am I supposed to do?"

"_Well_, considering I _am_ a medic, curiosity makes me wonder what's under the hair on the right side of your face," stated Ryouhei seriously. "So what is it?"

Shissou hesitated. "I-I'm not sure . . . I don't know."

Ryouhei smirked in retaliation. "Then _show_ me."

- - - - - - - - - -

Arch was almost on the brink of falling asleep while standing when a branch about three feet behind him was disturbed. Turning immediately, he was caught off guard at the sight of a kunai directly in front of him. About to jump back, he relaxed at once in seeing Inai lowering the kunai. "'Clash' and our leader's dead!" she announced dramatically, laughing a moment later to show she was only joking. Sighing in relief, Arch smirked. "Yes, well, _I'm _not the enemy. Did you locate anything?"

"As a matter of fact, we did, Mr. Oh-Amazing-Dead-One," laughed Teruaki from behind Arch. "The town was located in our direction."

"Good," replied Arch, walking over and marking a tree with one of his kunai-knives. He scraped in an arrow pointing in the direction Teruaki and Inai had come. Turning back to the others, he crossed his arms habitually - only to jump back in surprised, the bloody kunai falling to the ground. Inai sighed, walking over to him.

"Arch, you fool," she muttered, pulling his wounded arm towards her. Arch huffed in annoyance and embarrassment. Teruaki burst out into laughter.

"Y-you moron!" he grinned. "You stabbed yourself! You're _so_ lucky Banchi didn't see that!"

"Ahh . . . But I _did_," stated Banchi, walking out from behind a tree. Celena sighed slightly." Arch, you're _still_ clumsy."

"Yes, well," sighed Arch. "I forgot my kunai was there . . ."

"How smart of you," muttered a voice from beside Arch. Arch's head snapped in his father's direction, glaring at the sight in front of him.

Ryouhei stood before him, one hand on his hip while the other hand was occupied by holding a lifeless Shissou over his shoulder. Arch was too distraught to know what to think, his anger quickly consuming him.

"What's wrong with Shissou?!" asked the last person Arch would have expected-Banchi. "Is he dead?"

"No, he's just heavy," growled Ryouhei back. He reached on his back and pulled off Shissou's pack, tossing it to his son. "Once we reach the two, I want you to look through that. We need to get this kid to a room. He's dead asleep."

"That's nothing strange," Arch stated, finally able to see the steady breaths Shissou was emitting. Celena walked over to Ryouhei and took Shissou from him. "I really think we should just drop him on the ground . . ."

"No-don't," Ryouhei stated quickly. Everyone stared at him curiously-especially Arch. Ryouhei sighed. "It'll waste extra time because we'll have to pick him back up. Now come on," he added, turning and walking towards the town; the others following. Arch sighed, looking down at the pack in his hands before a thought entered his head that made him stop dead in his tracks.

How had his father known which way the two was if he'd gone the complete opposite way?

- - - - - - - - - -

It had taken them about twenty minutes to arrive at the town. The town itself wasn't too large, which worried Arch a little. In a town like this, even the slightest difference would be noticed.

Thankfully, though, everyone had listened to him when he'd told them to disguise themselves. Ryouhei had even helped the _still_ sleeping Shissou out. Arch had bought three hotel rooms - one for Inai and Celena, one for Ryouhei and Banchi, and one for Shissou and himself. At the moment, he could have cared less about whether Ryouhei and Banchi were together.

It hadn't been until he'd gotten Shissou situated in one of the rooms that Arch realized he'd forgotten about Teruaki when he'd gotten rooms, and so the man was now passed out contentedly on the floor.

Arch sighed softly as he looked at the two members of his squad as they slept soundly. Turning towards his own bed, he paused at the sight of Shissou's bag on it. Walking over to it, he sat on the bed and grabbed the bag. He hesitated.

_I don't think I should really do this . . . But even Dad wouldn't have told me to do this if he didn't think it was important . . . _he thought seriously. _I've never had him lie to me . . . He hates lying . . . _

Finally deciding to go ahead and do it, Arch made himself fairly comfortable on his bed before opening the pack. He cast a glance at Shissou, part of him wishing the boy would wake up and stop him. Shissou was still sleeping, though, with most of his face hidden by a pillow he was clutching close to him.

Focusing his attention back to the bag, Arch began to shuffle through it. Inside were several shirts with pants to match, as well as a violet-colored hair-brush, a blue _tooth_brush, a dog-tag with Shissou's Ninja Registration Number on it, and a ton of packed up senbon. As Arch grew closer to the bottom of the bag, something rattled. Alarm flared in the back of Arch's mind as he pulled out Shissou's headband, his eyes widening in shock.

In the bottom of Shissou's bag was about thirty or so _full_ bottles of multiple medications. Arch felt his throat go dry as he pulled out one of the bottles and read the back of it.

Apparently it was supposed to be some sort of pain reliever. Then, as Arch realized, most of them were. After a little more examination, he came to realize that most of them had the distinct side-effect of drowsiness. Arch sighed. This certainly explained a lot. Grabbing his own bag, Arch began to stuff the pills into his own bag. _The last thing I need is for Shissou to be taking all of these pills! He could kill himself! There's no way he could need all of them!_

Once he'd finally transferred the pills to his own bag (so he could ask Shissou about it later) and had returned the rest of the stuff to Shissou's bag, Arch tossed it to the side of Shissou's bed and finally let himself fall asleep.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Oi, Arch! You're not gonna believe this!"

The voice managed to finally break through Arch's concentrated nightmare, waking him up quickly. He groaned softly, looking up at Teruaki, who was leaning over the bed. He sighed.

"What is it, you big oaf?"

Teruaki's grin widened. "Shissou actually woke up before us! I woke up when I heard the shower running."

Arch looked at Teruaki curiously. "Really?"

"Yeah," Teruaki nodded. "The shower shut off about two minutes ago before I woke you up."

"Hn . . . Okay," Arch stated, sitting up and stretching a little. "Teruaki, how's Inai?"

Teruaki's widened slightly as his face changed into a deep red color. "I-I haven't seen her this morning."

"Ahh, well, I suggest you go buy her some breakfast or something," replied Arch casually. "It might get you two on even better terms."

Teruaki grinned at Arch. "That sounds like a good idea! I didn't know you had a girlfriend that you learned all this from, Arch," he stated thoughtfully, before turning towards the door. "Thanks!" he added at the last minute, before dashing out the door.

_I don't_, thought Arch with a sigh. Turning his attention back to the task at hand, though, he gave another, softer sigh. Finally, he'd have the chance to speak with Shissou alone.

About five minutes later, Shissou walked out of the bathroom. The man was wearing a pair of ANBU pants with a towel draped sloppily around his neck and torso, yawning.

Arch climbed out of his bed, sighing softly. "Good morning, Shissou."

Shissou looked over at him, staring for a moment as if he'd just realized the man was there. "Oh, hey . . ." he finally muttered, walking over to his side of the room. Arch watched him with a mixture of surprise and suspicion. Shissou was acting strangely. He watched as Shissou sat down on the bed with his back facing Arch, his bag on his lap while he shuffled through it. After a few minutes of listening to cloth fabric being moved, Arch sighed.

"Looking for something, Shissou?" he asked, keeping his tone light and casual.

"Mhmm," muttered Shissou in response.

"Perhaps . . . These?" asked Arch, pulling out one of the pill bottles and shaking it. Shissou's back stiffened, but he pulled out a turtle neck shirt before turning to look at Arch. "Where did you get those?"

"Out of your bag," replied Arch seriously, finding no reason to lie to the man before him. "Along with a _lot_ more. Why do you have them?"

Shissou hesitated, pausing to think for a moment. Arch emitted another sigh.

"I see," he stated. "Don't bother trying to "explain", Shissou. Just . . . Don't try to get these back. You don't need them."

Arch stuffed the pills back into his bag before going to change in the bathroom, exiting the hotel room moments later.

Shissou watched the man as he left, softly reaching up and placing his hand just over the hair that covered his right eye. _Arch . . . What do you think I've done?_

- - - - - - - - - -

Arch sighed as he walked out of the hotel, wanting to clear his head before getting back on the task at hand. Confronting Shissou had been harder than he'd let on.

As he walked down one of the multiple streets, he couldn't help but notice the feeling that he was being watched - and, in some cases, even stared at. _This isn't good . . . Hopefully none of them are allied with our enemies. That's the last thing we need._

Turning down another path, the man started to walk again, trying to find something-anything-to take his mind off of Shissou. He hated distrusting his friend, but he really didn't know what to do about the man.

_I wish Takako, Nali, or even Colredan were here . . . _he thought with a sigh, wishing his friends would have been able to help him. As he thought, he began to get less and less aware of the direction in which he was going. The sound of footsteps behind him woke the man from his thoughts. Arch turned, his eyes landing on the person in front of him; Banchi. Arch growled softly to himself.

"What do _you_ want?"

Banchi sneered at Arch with satisfaction, crossing his arms. "I was wondering why you walked into an alleyway, so I followed you."

Arch glared at him. "Did you _learn_ anything?"

"Just that you're as dumb as I thought," smirked Banchi in return. Arch scowled.

"Well, good for you. I'll be sure to get you a brain scan when we get home to make sure that _you're_ not the stupid one, Banchi," remarked Arch in return.

This time, Banchi was the one to growl furiously. Looking about to respond, he clearly thought better of it, opting to just calm himself down. "Oi, Ara-Arch, how about we go get something to eat?"

"No I don't think s-what?"

Arch froze, staring at the man in confusion. Hadn't they just been arguing? Eyeing Banchi suspiciously, he spoke. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Arch-_kun_," Banchi stated, grinning at Arch for the first time since they'd met. This freaked Arch out quite a bit, but before he could move to get away, Banchi grabbed his arm and began to drag Arch off, exiting the alleyway moments later.

Arch suddenly got a _very_ bad feeling about this.

- - - - - - - - - -

After about eight minutes of being dragged around, Arch was finally relieved as Banchi located a small tea shop. Basically forcing Arch inside, Banchi ordered two cups of coffee and was now sitting across from Arch. Arch was staring at him in confusion. "What was _that_ about?"

"Hn?" grunted Banchi, looking up from his coffee. "You mean you didn't notice? Amazing."

"Notice? Notice _what_, Banchi? What are you talking about?" asked Arch, his attention focused on the man in front of him. Banchi smirked with amusement.

"There were three people up on the wall of the alley that I noticed at the last minute. Two guys and a girl, to be more accurate . . . They were watching us, so I made a diversion before we started arguing about our mission. The fact that you mentioned we weren't from here was bad enough. I'm just glad you didn't mention were we were from specifically."

Arch sighed softly, ashamed that _he_ hadn't noticed the three. _How could I have been so reckless? Rivalry or not, that was uncalled for._

"What's up with you? Trying to find fault with my logic?" asked Banchi, his tone curious instead of bitter. Arch sighed.

"Yeah, of course - that's what I _pride_ myself on," he remarked sarcastically.

"Hey, _I'm_ being nice," Banchi stated seriously. Arch nodded cautiously, not quite sure how to take that comment, while both of them drank some of the coffee that had been ordered. Banchi stared down at his own coffee cup, sighed, and turned to look back at Arch.

"What did you say to Shissou?"

Arch nearly choked on his coffee, staring in shock at the man. "_What_?"

"What did you say. To. Shissou?" Banchi asked, this time with a more strict, serious tone to the question.

Arch sighed slightly. "About what?"

"The pills."

Arch's eyes narrowed at the man. "How do _you_ know about that?"

"I . . . Just do. Now, what did you say?"

Arch eyed him suspiciously before answering carefully. "I asked him about them., but he didn't give me a straight out answer, so I didn't wait for him to lie, and took the pills with me as I left."

Banchi stared at Arch for a moment without a word, his expression unreadable. After a few seconds, the man set his coffee down and stood up, glaring at the ANBU now. "You know, I used to think you were just stupid, Araki. Now I know it-and even worse, you don't seem to care about it. Think about something, _Stupid_: if Shissou's slow when it comes to waking up, eating, and talking, then who's to say he's not slow when he thinks and reacts?" he asked bitterly, before turning and walking out of the restaurant.

Arch was stunned, slowly coming to the realization that, no matter how much he hated to admit it, Banchi was right. Growling softly to himself, he stood up (after paying) and walked out of the restaurant after Banchi, wondering why the man seemed to care so much about Shissou's thoughts all of a sudden.

- - - - - - - - - -

When Arch arrived at the hotel, it was to his dismay that he found Shissou had left already. It was nine o'clock, but usually it would have taken Shissou another hour to even wake up.

_Please don't me mad at me, Shissou. Please . . . _he thought desperately, subconsciously realizing that there was very little, if any, possibility that his friend _wasn't_ angry.

Unsure of what to do now, he began to search around, trying to locate his group. It didn't take him long to find Celena at a dango shop and ask her to help him locate the others and get them all back together. Twenty minutes later, everyone was with them but Shissou. Arch sighed softly; dread creeping up his spine as he spoke. "Did you search everywhere?"

"We all did," Inai replied softly. "We can't find him."

"You must have really upset him," growled Banchi angrily. Arch tossed him a glare, but made no comment to satisfy the man. Turning back to the others, he suppressed a sigh. "We can't leave him. Split up into two groups of three. Banchi, you go with Celena and Teruaki. Inai, Ryouhei, and I'll go to the right, so you all go left. Let's go!"

Arch could feel Teruaki's gaze on him as he turned to dash off, knowing fully well that the man was upset because he wasn't being put with Inai. Ignoring Teruaki, Arch motioned for the others to follow him as he sped through the trees. Inai caught up to him quickly, while Ryouhei scouted behind them.

"Arch, what did Banchi mean when he said you upset Shissou?" asked Inai softly. "I mean, I realize Banchi's full of hot air, but still…. Did something really happen?"

Arch sighed, finding no reason to lie to the girl. "Yeah. Something I definitely need to clear up."

Before Inai could reply, a loud explosion went off-close enough for Arch to feel the brunt air wave of the after effects. About to dash towards the source, he was cut short as something landed on his head.

Surprised, Arch reached up and grabbed it, his eyes widening in recognition moments later.

_No . . ._ he thought with horror.

What lay in his hand was a scorched, bloody version of Shissou Kobayashi's hitai-ate.

- - - - - - - - - -

Arch groaned in horror upon seeing the location of the previous explosion that had been heard. It was simply horrible.

The trees surrounding the area were either burned to ash, broken, or leaning heavily away from the area. Rocks had been flipped over, the roots forming below having been forcibly ripped up from the ground. Blood was scattered around, lining the trees and drenching the grass.

Worst of all, though, to the left of an overturned rock was a scorched cadaver, maimed and burnt beyond recognition. Arch feared the worst of the situation.

Next to him, Inai was staring in shock and horror, while Ryouhei , as a medic, when over to examine the corpse. After a moment or two, he stood again, looking at the two younger ANBU seriously. "It's not Shissou. He's alive-somewhere."

"Shiss'u, eh?" asked a voice from the right of the group, a horrid accent making it unfamiliar. "S'at the name o' that kid? W'uldn't tell me t' save his life, t'tell ya the truth."

The group of htree turned to find the source of the interruption. Arch's eyes narrowed as he came to find out it was a man who looked a little younger than himself perched on a tree branch. "Does that mean he's dead, _Brat_?" he asked, his sharp tone hiding his worries.

"De'd? Er, no, odd-guy . . . He's kinda sleepin', tho', if ya know what I mean. Strange guy. Takes his hits well."

Arch growled, just about ready to jump up and tear this kid apart, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Inai looked at him seriously.

"Hold on," she murmured. "We might not even be talking about the same guy here."

"She has a point," added Ryouhei. Turning to their 'guest', he spoke again. "What does this guy you have look like?"

The boy looked down at Ryouhei curiously. "The ol' guy's askin' me?" he muttered, loud enough for them to hear him. "Well . . . Uh . . . He's kinda tall . . . Kinda short . . . Long 'air on one side of 'is head, short on the other . . . Kinda pale."

Arch groaned softly. "Shissou . . ."

The man jumped down from the tree he'd been in, smirking at the group. "Well, it's been _real_ nice talkin' t' ya all, but the only reason I came back was t' say say hi from a friend o' mine. He said t' either give up yer li'l adventure thing, 'r ya won't be seein' yer friend any more."

Finishing his statement, the man tossed something on the ground, the object erupting into a thick cloud of purple smoke. Ryouhei, having been the closest, jumped back immediately to avoid the smoke, while Arch grabbed Inai and dragged her back too, worried that the cloud was full of poison.

When the smoke cleared, the man was gone.

"Poor Shissou," mumbled Inai softly. "What will we do?"

- - - - - - - - - -

A silky shadow sulked near the edge of pale vision, moving in spasmodic motions. The shadow hung near the only source of light in the room: the crack under the door, which held out the light from the other room. The figure refused to come too close to the other person within the room who was sprawled out carelessly on the floor.

Groggily, the fallen figure began to stir, emitting a soft groan in the process.

_Where . . . Am I?_ wondered Shissou as he stared around him, the right side of his head pounding painfully. Ready to sit up, pain shot through his neck and arms, making him fall back against the hard linoleum floor.

This time, the groan was louder and seemed to attract the attention of his companion. The figure's silhouetted head turned in his direction. "You up?"

The question was silly-even Shissou could comply to that. With the splitting headache he was suffering with, it was barely possible for Shissou to even think. The man at the door began to walk towards Shissou, his outline barely visible in the dark. Stopping in front of the limp figure of Shissou, the man crossed his arms. "Guess you're a mute, then. You certainly gave us a few problems out there in those woods. You're lucky to still be alive, Kid."

Through the pain, Shissou looked up and tossed the man a glare, even if he wouldn't be able to see it. He sighed softly, resting his head back on the floor. Closing his eyes for a moment, Shissou could head the man's footsteps as he walked back over to the door once again. Shissou looked up cautiously.

Immediately afterwards, he regretted doing so. A blinding light beat down on him, glaring into his eye and illuminating everything. Shutting his eyes immediately, he tried to block out the light.

"There we are! Now I can see you, Kid," stated the man in the room. "Sorry about the brightness. New bulbs always shine brighter than old ones."

Gradually, Shissou opened his eyes, looking around again. The floor of the room was made of black linoleum tiles, and the walls were painted a dark blue. The ceiling was a dull grey, and the only _really_ unusual thing in the room was the man he still couldn't place the name of.

This guy had short, unruly hair that was half brown and half white. His eyes were a dark shade of blue. He was dressed in a black shirt and pants, while a silver belt with an unusual symbol incrusted on it was wrapped around his waist.

Staring up at the man for a moment, Shissou tried to memorize everything about the man that he could. Sure, maybe it was just his looks, but Shissou was positive that any little detail may be able to help him.

The man walked back over to him, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked Shissou over curiously. He bent down a little closer, his smile shifting to a smirk. "What's your name, Kid?"

Shissou opened his mouth in order to speak, only to taste the metallic flavor of blood as he coughed up a good amount of it. He nearly gagged, but suppressed doing so, instead watching as his companion stood back up straight, disgust evident on his features.

"I forgot; you're apparently a mute," he grunted, stepping forward once more. "Or perhaps you've just got blood in your voice box . . . That _must_ be it! Let's get it out, shall we?"

Shissou wasn't at all comfortable with the way the guy's voice had gone high with hysteria. His misgivings were confirmed when the man shifted his leg back and slammed his foot heavily into Shissou's stomach.

Shissou gave out a horrid, pained gasp before the room began to spin, followed instantly by complete darkness.

- - - - - - - - - -

"_What_?!"

That was the initial reaction Arch had gotten when he'd explained the situation to the other group. Teruaki looked the most shocked out of them all, mainly because he, unlike Banchi, hadn't seen something like this coming.

"Well, we can't very well submit to their demands because we don't know if Shissou's even alive," stated Celena seriously.

"Are you saying we should abandon Shissou then?!" growled Teruaki, an amount of hostility in his tone that Arch wasn't familiar with, but wasn't at all against. He was equally as frustrated.

"I don't know," replied Celena honestly. "This is Arch's decision to make; he's the leader."

Arch's mind seemed to freeze as everyone turned to look at him. He couldn't recall ever being put in a situation this complex. Quickly trying to figure something out, he looked them all over. Finally, he sighed.

"We don't know if Shissou's alive. We don't know where he is, and we don't know how to get in contact with that creep we met . . . Right now we have to proceed with the mission above all else. Hishimosa Kinto isn't waiting to have his goons kidnap others, so we can't wait around in stopping him. Besides, it may have been his goons who captured Shissou," he explained openly. This time, everyone remained silent.

It appeared that the younger ANBU were trying to take in the news, while the two older ones seemed to be trying to formulate a decent plan for the situation. Arch sighed softly. He hated the idea of abandoning Shissou, but he really didn't have all that much of a choice. His friend would have to hang on until they could locate him.

While he had been deep in thought, Arch had failed to notice that the others had returned their attention to him. It wasn't until Ryouhei cleared his throat that Arch finally realized it.

"You're the leader," stated Inai, not a single trace of enthusiasm in her tone. "Tell us what we need to do."

Arch nodded. "The fact of the matter is that we have to get into the territory first if we're to stop them at all. I need the two best at scouting, Teruaki and Ryouhei, to go on ahead and find out if there are any enemies positioned between here and the border. Report back immediately if you find any before you actually reach the border. If you don't have any opposition, then one of you will remain at the border and the other will report back to let us know," he explained seriously, before turning to look at the other three.

"Now, while _they're_ gone towards the border, Banchi and I are going to go back to the explosion site to look for excess clues. Inai, being the fastest, will come to get us when Ryouhei or Teruaki returns, while Celena will wait with whoever comes back."

"We should be able to handle that," stated Ryouhei. He turned to Teruaki, gave a signal, and the both of them sped off through the trees.

"We'll be here if you come back early," Inai muttered to Arch. "I pray you don't."

- - - - - - - - - -

It hadn't taken more than fifteen minutes for Banchi and Arch to arrive at their destination. Banchi had immediately gone to investigate what was left of the cadaver, while Arch went to where their unwanted visitor had shown up.

"What exactly are we supposed to be searching for, anyway?" asked Banchi bluntly as he prodded the cadaver with his foot.

"Any clue that could tell us where Shissou or that freak might be," replied Arch as he jumped up on the tree where the man had perched. He looked around, attempting to take in all of the information about the area that he could. Altogether, apart from the corpse and the upturned rocks, there weren't any spectacular details to help their case.

_This isn't good . . . If we don't have any clues, then we won't have a way to help Shissou . . . _

"Araki! Come here!" shouted Banchi, who stood about three feet away from the corpse. "You need to see this."

Hope flared in Arch immediately as he jumped down from the tree and went to join Banchi. "What is it?"

"Catch," stated Banchi, tossing a black object to Arch. "Look at _that_."

Catching the object, Arch flipped it over in his hands, his eyes widening as he recognized the shape of the object. _A wallet?_

Snapping it open, he searched through the wallet, pulling out a card moments later. "There's an I.D. in here for some guy named Ouya Kuronyia."

"Yeah," muttered Banchi. "He's apparently an Amegakure ninja. I think it might be that burnt guy's I.D."

"It can't be," Arch stated, examining the wallet. "This thing's dirty, but it's not damaged. If it _was_ that guy's, then it probably wouldn't even exist because of the explosion. Someone came after the explosion and dropped this. They came _after_ us."

Banchi stared at Arch. 'But we're not that far from where Celena and Inai are."

"And the border's not too far from there . . ." added Arch. "In the amount of time it took for me and the others to get from here to you all, explain everything, and get _back_ here, we could have gotten to the border twice - if not more."

As they both cooperated in the explanation, realization seemed to strike them both simultaneously. Arch's hands fell to his sides. "I've sent Teruaki and Ryouhei into an ambush."

Banchi spun on his heel and grabbed Arch's arm. "Let's go!"

- - - - - - - - - -

Waking up with a heavy gasp, Shissou's head shot up. Pain surged through his arms, head, stomach, and chest as he tried to move. Suppressing the urge to cry out, he forced himself to look around.

He had been moved.

Now he was located in a dull grey room. He couldn't see any windows or doors, and he could feel something heavy around his wrists, binding the behind his back.

_Where's that guy at?_ He wondered, turning his head, attempting to find something or _someone_. _I've been moved . . . And someone made me sit up . . ._

His attention was suddenly shifted at the sound of a door opening behind him. Turning his head to the left, he stared in confusion.

"Wrong side, Kiddo," stated a voice from Shissou's right. Turning his head completely to the right, he jerked back, crying out as his left arm got hung in what was binding him, bending the bone nearly to a breaking point. The man in front of him grabbed his shoulder, pulling Shissou back towards him before the boy hurt himself any further.

"Didn't mean t' startle you, Kid," he stated, standing up straight. "I also apologize about my comrade's earlier behavior. He has a few strange . . . _Issues_. So, apart from the obvious, how are you feeling?"

_Like I would rather die than be here . . . _Shissou thought sharply in response, casting a glare up at the grey-haired man. The man raised an eyebrow in curiosity before smirking. "Well, Barugih was right," he stated, leaning against a wall. "Apparently you really _don't_ talk. That's okay, though; we already know quite a bit about you."

Shissou's eyes widened, looking at the man in confusion. The guy's smirk broadened.

"You _do_ react, though. That's a good sign. Truth be told, I don't know much about you other than the fact that you're an ANBU from somewhere and you have a strange hairstyle. Want to fill me in on your name?"

"'Is name is Shiss'u, Itsu'i," stated a voice from behind the man in front of Shissou. Shissou's companion looked over at the blonde newcomer. "I absolutely _hate_ your accent, Barugih. You can tell me his name over and over again, an I still can't understand what it is that you say."

"Barug'h? What th' heck kinda name's _that_? Not mine."

"Ahh, right .Sorry," he muttered, before looking back at Shissou, who looked like he was on the brink of passing out. "Kid? Come on, you can talk."

Shissou tossed him a glance, his head leaning against the wall. _My head feels like it's about to implode . . . _he thought, shifting his legs. "M-my . . . Arms . . ." he choked out finally, spitting out a bit of blood afterwards. The man sighed. "Sorry I can't do anything about that. What's your name?"

Shissou stared at him for a moment, trying to comprehend the question. Finally, he shifted again. "S-S-Shissou."

"Ahhh, so _that_'s what you're called," the man stated. "I, myself, am Itsuei, Shissou."

"And _my_ name's Ouya," added their newest guest.

"W-why . . . Am I h-here?"

"Because we brought ya 'ere, got it? Ain't nuttin' more t'an that."

"In other words," stated Itsuei, tossing a glance at Ouya before turning back. "We had to bring you here. I can't tell you why, but know that I hope to help you out."

"L'ar," muttered Ouya, walking over to Shissou. "I doubt 'e'll get outta 'ere at all. 'Is friends didn't seem too keen on getting' 'im back."

Shissou's attention turned to Ouya immediately. "M-my . . . Friends? Yo-you saw t-them?"

"Y'ah. There was some black 'aired Sand Nin, a red-'ead, and some gal . . . The black 'aired guy didn't look too worried."

_Arch . . . . _thought Shissou, looking down at the ground, brows furrowed in confusion. _What did I do?_

"Don't look so downhearted," stated Itsuei. "It's common for a shinobi to give up his comrades. You're not the first to be a victim of it."

Shissou sighed, while Ouya grunted. "Itsu'i and I were both abandon'd by our comrades. Got 'em back f'r it, too. W'uldn't be too surprised if ya got yer friends back too."

"Let's get him cleaned up a little," sighed Itsuei, walking over to Shissou as well. "You look pathetic."

"'Old up, Itsu'i," Ouya muttered, leaning down to be eye-level with Shissou. "'Re ya gonna behave?"

". . . Yes . . ." muttered Shissou in response, too confused to think straight as the bindings on his wrists were relieved.

- - - - - - - - - -

Arch and Banchi had cut their leaving time in half by the time they returned to where Arch had posted Inai and Celena. The two were still there, although Inai was beginning to look anxious. Once she saw the two's return, she dashed over to them. "Did you find anything?"

"A wallet," replied Banchi brusquely. Arch looked at Inai seriously. "Any word from Ryouhei or Teruaki?"

This time Arch could clearly see the worry on Inai's eyes at the mention of Teruaki, and he instantly understood. "Okay," he stated, motioning for Celena to join them. He'd thought about this plan all the way back, and now he was ready to put it into action.

"Here's what we're going to do," stated Arch seriously. "Celena will go with Banchi, and Inai will come with me. Inai and I will be the first to go ahead, then you two will follow us about five minutes _after_ we're gone. This way, we'll be able to have back up in case we're attacked."

"Then wouldn't it be smarter if _we_ went together?" asked Banchi bluntly. "We know what's going on."

"That's exactly why we're not going together. Both Inai and Celena need to know what's happening. Since we don't have time right now, we'll have to explain along the way," explained Arch quickly. "Now let's go!"

- - - - - - - - - -

By the time they were half-way through their route, Arch had already explained everything to Inai. She had acted calm, but Arch couldn't help but feel like she blamed him for any danger Teruaki might have been in. His own worry seemed to magnify the feeling. He couldn't believe that he was actually worried about his father.

Suddenly, the sound of rattling caught his attention. Inai appeared to have noticed as well. She had stopped a little ways ahead. "What is it, Arch?"

"It sounds like a-"

"SNAKE!" shrieked Inai as she jumped back to Arch's side. A rattlesnake had fallen out of a tree above Inai, but something was wrong. Blood was beginning to pool around the snake's head, and the snake wasn't moving. Arch cautiously approached it, finally getting a good look at it.

A deep bleeding ring had been sliced around the snake's neck, looking as if it had died instantly. The rattle, though, was missing.

Once again, the rattling started up. Inai was looking around cautiously, searching for the source of the noise. Arch looked up towards the trees as well, though turned around immediately at the sound of feet hitting the ground. A brown-and-white haired man was standing in front of him, the rattle from the snake held loosely in his hand. A Rain Village symbol was etched into the headband wrapped around his forehead. The man grinned. "Hey, there."

"Who are _you_?" asked Arch, his eyes narrowing.

"Barugih Kuronyia," stated the man, his grin widening. "I'm going to go ahead and guess that you're one of those Sand ninjas, considering the way that you're glaring at me."

Arch scowled. "So what if I am?"

"Then so is your partner-which means that Keno and I are to eliminate you," he smirked. "Keno!"

Almost instantly a man jumped down behind Inai, lunging forward to grab her. Before he could, though, Inai ducked under his grasp and threw her fist up, colliding it with the man's lower jaw. She jumped back again as his stunned body hit the ground.

Arch was thoroughly impressed, but before he could comment, a kunai hit the ground by his feet; a paper bomb attached to the handle. Arch seethed before quickly jumping out of the way as the bomb detonated. The aftershock wave blew him to the ground, but he was back on his feet almost immediately. Barugih landed in front of him seconds later, throwing his fist towards Arch's face. Arch veered to the right, catching the man's fist in his hand and attempting to return the failed punch. Barugih saw it coming, though, and quickly ducked to avoid it, jumping backwards and skidding to a halt a few feet away. No less than a minute later, he was dashing back towards Arch again. Arch was ready for him, ducking down under a blow and slamming his knee into his opponent's stomach.

Barugih emitted a pained curse, glaring at Arch as he staggered backwards. Arch stood up straight, carefully watching the man. Barugih looked back up at Arch, and Arch's eyes widened in return. "What the . . . ?"

"Nice, huh?" asked Barugih with a smirk, his eyes completely bloodshot and his irises pitch black. "You'll regret doing that . . . I swear it."

"Your eyes . . ."

"Family gift," grunted the man as he released his hold on his stomach and got into a fighting stance. "And now to _kill_ you."

Arch barely had time to blink before Barugih had assaulted him with multiple punches, each as heavy as lead. The man seemed quite intent on beating the life out of Arch, and he was doing a good job of it, too.

Arch continuously tried to block the man's hits, finding each one harder to deflect. _What _is_ this guy?!_

"Wondering why you can't stop me?" asked Barugih, his tone high from hysteria. "Because you're not strong enough - just like your pathetic friend!"

"Where do you have Shissou?!" snapped Arch, his sudden surge of anger giving him the strength to shove Barugih away. Barugih laughed cruelly, cracking his knuckles and flexing them slowly. "That kid's been _long_ dead! Fed him to the rats _hours_ ago."

Arch glared at the man furiously. "Liar!" he screeched, before flipping into offense and dashing towards the an. This time, though, it was Barugih who was prepared. At the last possible moment, the man swerved to the side, his fist colliding with the side of Arch's face. Arch hit the ground roughly, although he wasn't down for long. Getting back to his feet, he jumped towards Barugih, who was ready for an aerial attack.

Instead, though, Arch landed on the ground about three inches away from the man and shifted his weight to his back, causing himself to fall backwards. While Barugih tried to catch up to the sudden change, Arch took the moment to know the man partially off-balance and sprung upwards, slamming his heels heavily into Barugih's jaw.

A small snapping sound was heard before Barugih's body fell limp and he hit the ground, completely immobile.

Arch cast him a single glance before looking over to find Inai still struggling with her own opponent. Long cuts laced their way up Inai's arms, while Keno was decorated with several deep gashes of his own. The two stood about five feet away from each other, panting heavily. Arch was ready to go and help, but Keno had already spotted Barugih. The man stepped back, cursed loudly, and vanished in a thick cloud of smoke. Inai muttered something to herself as she leaned against a tree.

Arch sighed, walking over to where she was located. "Are you okay?"

"Never better," stated Inai, her tone unusually bitter. "Let's go; I want to find the others."

"Inai? You seriously okay?" he asked, this time more persistent as he repeated the question.

Inai stood up straight and brushed past him. "_Fine_."

Arch sighed. Oh boy, this would be fun!

Not.

Arch began to follow her, opting to stay a little ways behind her until he figured out what was bothering her.

"Araki!" shouted a voice through the trees, breaking the awkward silence between the two. Seconds later, Banchi crashed through the trees, hitting the ground a few feet away from them, falling to his knees. He was paler than usual, and a deep gash was embedded in his forehead. Arch and Inai both dashed over to him - Inai trying to force him to calm down, and Arch looking him over seriously. The man was shaking violently.

"Where's Celena?" Arch asked, leaning down slightly.

"B-back there! She won't move - we've got to get to her!"

"_You're_ not going _anywhere_," snapped Inai sharply. "Arch can go. Just tell him where."

"F-five minutes East. She's back t-th . . ."

Before Banchi could finish his statement, he had passed out cold. Arch had never seen the man so unnerved and terrified before.

Inai hunched over his limp body, doing her absolute best to try and treat the wound. The woman looked up at him abruptly. "What are you waiting for? Go find your sensei!"

"Right," stated Arch, slightly unsettled at the fact that she'd had to tell him to do so. He quickly turned on his heel and dashed in the direction Banchi had instructed. He _had_ to get to Celena.

_What if she's not alive?_ He wondered, biting into his lower lip as he started to look around. _She will be, though . . . I'm sure of it . . ._

The truth was, though, that he didn't know _what_ he would do if she _wasn't_ alive. He was already angry with himself because of Shissou's absence, but he wasn't prepared to face the possible death of a comrade because of his own misguidance.

Quickly jumping into a tree, Arch began to look around his area for Celena. It wasn't long before he spotted the familiar blonde hair of his former sensei. Jumping down from the tree, he darted over to her; instantly relieved upon seeing the faint rise and fall of her chest.

She _was_ alive.

_But she won't be for long if I don't get her to Dad . . . _he added mentally, leaning down and looking her over cautiously for anything that would restrict him from picking her up. _Good . . . _he thought, surveying the battered area. Something grey caught his eye's attention, and he stepped forward to get a better look.

_Ashes? Was Celena's opponent a fire user?_ He wondered, before turning back to Celena.

"Let's get you back to the others."

- - - - - - - - -

When Arch returned with Celena held carefully in his arms, Teruaki and Ryouhei had arrived as well. Teruaki was speaking with Inai, his leg heavily bandaged, while Ryouhei was checking over Banchi's condition. The man's expression was grim.

Ryouhei didn't even appear to notice as Arch walked over to him and set Celena down. Arch sighed, looking down at Banchi from over Ryouhei's shoulder.

Banchi's golden-colored eyes were sightless as he stared past Arch at something invisible. The man was immobile and looked completely dead except fort he faint rising and falling of his bandaged chest.

"Is he going to die?" asked Arch cautiously, looking down at his father.

"No. He's in shock right now. I forced him to swallow and herb, so, he should wake up in a few hours."

"At least he'll live," sighed Arch, mostly in relief. He was forced back, though, as Ryouhei suddenly stood up. He turned to Arch, his eyes filled with more hatred than Arch had seen in a long time. A chill climbed up his back at the sight while Ryouhei's eyes narrowed.

"Don't talk like that, _Brat_. Don't act like you're _glad_ he'll live. You and I _both_ know you'd be happier if he and I were both dead, so don't say otherwise," he seethed furiously before turning, giving Arch a clear look at his left side. A thick cut had sliced its way from just above the side of his brow and down to the side of his cheekbone. From there it descended down his jaw line and into his neck, tearing at the fabric of his shirt lining. Arch felt his chest tighten in grief at the sight.

Yes, he hated his father for what he had done to him all those years ago, but although the man was most likely suffering horrendously, he was still trying to help the others first.

_He could have been a much better father if he'd been more like this . . . _Arch thought with a sigh.

Turning, he made his way over to Teruaki and Inai. "Hey," he stated. "What are you doing?"

"We _were_ planning to gather some food," stated Teruaki, his tone somewhat bitter. "_If_ you don't mind us going _together_ that is."

Arch stared at him in confusion. "_Excuse _me?"

"Sorry-I just figured that _you_ might want to go with Inai and leave me to guard Ryouhei or Banchi, y'know?" he remarked angrily, getting to his feet and limping heavily past Arch. Inai followed him silently without casting Arch a single glance.

Shocked, Arch watched them disappear from sight.

Why was everyone suddenly behaving so angrily?

- - - - - - - - -

After being allowed to get cleaned up, Shissou had been, once again, relocated to a different room. This time he was set in a smaller area, and bars were in the place of the door. Two beds were leaned up against separate walls at the back-one covered in shadows, and one brightened a tad bit more with some faint light. Opting for safety over stupidity, Shissou collapsed on the visible bed. Sighing softly, he tried to block out the immense pain on the right side of his head and forced himself to think. Why exactly were these people being so kind to him?

_Ouya couldn't have been right about Arch-sempai . . . Arch promised that he wouldn't let me fall behind . . . But Ouya described Arch perfectly . . . And Arch _did_ seem pretty upset with me when I last saw him . . . _he thought, his hope beginning to melt away. _Arch's wanted to be an ANBU Captain for so long, maybe he'll do anything to achieve his goal . . . Including abandoning me . . ._

"By you're expression, I'm going to guess your thoughts aren't pleasant," stated a voice from the darker side of the room. "I'm impressed. For a boy with such an unusual . . . _Curse_ . . . You think rather clearly. Most people in your s-situation would have come to _this_ side of the room . . . Thank y-you, Kobayashi."

Shissou, who had sat up on his bed, looked over in surprise. "Who are _you_?"

"Kuroichi Omaya. Not initially from _here_, but a prisoner such as yourself. I pity you-being put in here with me."

"Kuroichi-san, why are you here?"

"Why are _you_ here? Why are _any_ of us here? It is because Hishimosa cannot bear to have opposition and must capture anyone who he thinks is a t-threat."

Shissou stared at the concealing darkness in confusion. "You know about Hishimosa Kinto?"

"Just about everyone here does, Kobayashi. All of the surrounding towns rarely have any of the residents leave, and shinobi are hardly ever seen around these parts. Where were you when you were caught?"

"In a forest surrounding a town," Shissou replied honestly. At least now he had someone to talk to, and there wasn't much of a point in hiding secrets. There was a good chance he wouldn't get out of here, and if he did, maybe he'd leave with some valuable information. Maybe that would please Arch.

"Then evidently someone saw you leave and reported it. A lot of that has been going on recently. You're from Suna, aren't you? Your hitai-ate is missing."

"Yes, I am . . . But how did you know that? Where are _you_ from, Kuroichi-san?"

The man sighed. "My home at birth is no longer a recollection of mine, Kobayashi. Before I turned six, a raid poisoned my town and I was forced to flee with my mother and father. Not long after, two strange men killed them both, leaving only me. One wielded his own bones as weapons-the other was as creepy as a snake; Orochimaru, as I'm sure you know him by. I was forced to follow the two, and much of the rest is a blur. When things finally cleared, _this_ is what I had become."

From behind the thick shadows emerged a figure as dark as the shadows themselves. His hair was as black as the night sky with specks of white scattered all through it. His eyes were a bright silver, and his clothing was all deep shades of violet and blue. The skin around his hands and bare feet was white in contrast to his fairly tanned skin. He looked at Shissou curiously, expecting to see horror - only to locate sympathy instead.

"That must have been horribly painful," he sighed. "But what exactly _did_ he do to you?"

"Transferred out my eyes," replied the man bluntly. "Seven different times, to be exact. Now I can see through just about anything - but the price I pay is physical and horrendous. My skin rots away, leaving only a bleached white color to cover my muscles beneath."

"Is that why you said you pitied me for being put in here?"

"No," replied the man, looking over at Shissou. "I pity you because my genes were also altered - with those of a wolf's, actually-and _you_ were brought here as my lunch!"

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed it! Took me forever to do the whole thing. xD**_

_**Read and review! Thanks!**_

_**Shebby**_


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